December 13, 2021

In their guest blog, Michigan Tech researchers Shan Zhou (SS) and Daisuke Minakata (CEGE) explain how changes at the household level can create a circular water economy.

"Scholars, policy makers and activists alike have pointed out the need to transit toward a circular economy, which optimizes the use of raw materials and resources, maximizes economic values and minimizes environmental damages," write Zhou and Minakata. "The circular water economy is based on the idea that all water is a resource, rather than a waste product following its use. But, changes at the societal and household level are necessary to establish a more sustainable water use system."

Read more on Unscripted, the University's research blog.

Payroll Deduction | Red Permits
For employees utilizing payroll deduction for parking and holding a red parking permit, our new non-expiring window clings will be available for distribution in mid-January.

You will receive an email with instructions for using the Parking Portal to verify or update your vehicle information and when to return your old hang-tag and pick up your new window cling. Your current hang-tag permit will be valid until that time and your payroll deduction will continue.

We encourage employees to use payroll deduction, which allows us to issue non-expiring permits that can be used as long as payroll deduction remains in place. Employees wishing to begin payroll deduction will need to complete a parking fee payroll deduction form available through Transportation Services.

The new window cling non-expiring permits will be barcoded for fair and consistent enforcement, allowing staff to easily check the license plates that are associated with your permit. It will be very important to update your license plate or vehicle information if it changes. Please remember that only one vehicle per permit is allowed on campus at a time.

Paid-in-Full Permits | Not Eligible for Payroll Deduction
For employees who paid in full for their permit or are not eligible for payroll deduction, permits will be available for purchase in January if your expiration date is December 2021. If you elect to pay for your permit by cash, check or credit card, you can stop by Transportation Services beginning Jan. 3, 2022. Your payment will be prorated through the expiration date of June 30, 2022. Please continue to display your current hang-tag until that time.

Silver Permits
General silver parking permits are valid in Lot 24 near the SDC. General permits are valid through the expiration date provided on your permit. To continue to be allowed to park in Lot 24, those who have permits expiring in December 2021 will need to purchase a new permit with an expiration date of June 30, 2022.

Black Permits
Employees with black parking permits will be contacted individually with instructions on verifying their intention of continuing with a guaranteed Lot 11 permit, which also includes access to all red faculty/staff lots. Anyone wishing to be added to the waiting list for a black guaranteed Lot 11 permit should contact parking@mtu.edu.

More Info
Information about parking and permits is available on the Transportation Services website. If you have any questions, please email parking@mtu.edu.

Effective Jan. 1, 2022, minimum wage will increase from $9.65 to $9.87 per hour. Therefore, all employees who currently fall below this new hourly rate will see an automatic increase. Department-generated EPAFs will not be needed.

For jobs starting after January 1, 2022, use the minimum wage of $9.87 per hour. This change will have an impact on departments that pay students and temporary employees less than this amount.

Last week, all tenured and tenure-track faculty should have received an email with a ballot link requesting approval of the addition of two sections to the Faculty Handbook, Section 2.5: The Role of Innovation and Commercialization and Section 2.6: The Role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The content of these sections were previously accepted and passed as Senate proposals 5-18 and 55-21, respectively.

Following Appendix I of the Faculty Handbook, any changes affecting the tenure, promotion and reappointment process must be approved via a referendum voted on by the tenured and tenure-track faculty. Additional information on both proposed sections is available on the Senate Voter Information Page under the Resources tab on the University Senate web page.

Balloting began Dec. 6 and will remain open until 5 p.m. today (Dec. 13). If you are having trouble finding your ballot, please check your spam and promotions folders, as emails from Survey Monkey can sometimes end up there.

The Transportation Services T2 system will be offline for a software upgrade starting at 5 p.m. tomorrow (Dec. 14). We anticipate the system to be operational on Wednesday (Dec. 15).

During the maintenance period, you will not be able to access the Michigan Tech Parking Portal to purchase a permit, update your vehicle information or pay a parking citation.

Thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions, please contact parking@mtu.edu.

A Banner production system maintenance window will take place on Jan. 3, 2022, from 10 to 11:59 p.m.

The following production services will be unavailable during that time:

Banner
Banweb
MyMichiganTech
ASPIRE
Course Tools
Housing Apartments Wait List
OAP Rental System
Oracle Reports
UC4/Appworx
Virtual Cashiering
WebFocus

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

Visit the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum to take advantage of our annual Holiday Sale!

The gift shop is currently offering 15% off on minerals, home décor, books and select jewelry.* The sale ends Dec. 22.

The museum gallery and gift shop are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mention this Tech Today post to receive a free gift with any purchase (one gift per customer).

*Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Are you interested in taking your innovative idea, technology or processes commercial? Husky Innovate is hosting a spring 2022 Innovation Corps (I-Corps) National Science Foundation (NSF) workshop series designed to help participants advance their research ideas toward additional funding or outside adoption.

Entrepreneurially minded graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, alumni and local community teams are invited to join the I-Corps Michigan Tech Site Program’s Lean Startup spring cohort. The site program is structured around lean startup teaching methods and principles used by NSF's National I-Corps program, which fosters entrepreneurship based in technology commercialization.

Michigan Tech and affiliate institution teams who complete the five-week workshop and customer discovery process are eligible for a $2,500 mini grant for continued customer discovery and prototyping supplies, as well as continued participation in the I-Corps program, which includes $50,000 in funding and additional training. Participation in the workshop can lead to qualification for research and other funding from several granting agencies, including the NSF I-Corps and SBIR/STTR/PFI programs and various state and regional programs.

Past participants have reported that they saved time and money by better understanding potential applications of their technology, experienced improved engagement with teams and improved their ability to receive add-on funding.

Our spring cohort will meet online via Zoom on the following dates:

• Jan. 31 — 4-7:30 p.m.
• Feb. 7 — 4-6 p.m.
• Feb. 21 — 4-6 p.m.
• Feb. 28 — 4-7:30 p.m.

To participate, please register online. After registration is complete, a Zoom link will be sent via a Google Calendar invite.

Michigan Tech women's basketball picked up a 40-point victory over Lake Superior State on Thursday (Dec. 9) before Ferris State ended their four-win streak Saturday (Dec. 11).

Alex Rondorf posted a career-high 19 points and and the Huskies picked up their fourth-straight win Thursday over the Lakers. Tech won 92-51 at the SDC Gym. MTU turned over the basketball just six times and put the game out of reach late in the third quarter with a 13-0 run. Ellie Mackay (17 points) and Isabella Lenz (12 points) also vaulted to double figures.

"I was really happy with our overall performance," said head coach Sam Clayton. "I thought our transition offense was awesome and that was a key coming into the game. We did a good job setting screens and taking high percentage shots. Alex shot 9-for-11 from the floor with eight offensive boards as well, so that was nice to see. Everyone that dressed scored a basket, which I think speaks volumes about the team chemistry right now."

The Huskies' quest for five straight wins was foiled by Ferris State. The Bulldogs edged the Huskies 80-74 at the SDC Gym, scoring 50 points in the first half and taking over the top spot in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate North Division at 4-0 (10-1 overall). The Huskies fell to 3-1 (8-2 overall) as the Bulldogs won their 10th-straight game.

Rondorf led the Huskies in the loss, topping her career high with 21 points for the Huskies — and a 40-point week. "I thought Alex had a great game for us on both ends of the floor," said Clayton. "She was flying around like she always does."

On the rest of the match, Clayton had this to say: "We weren't that sharp defensively in the first half, especially when we were playing zone. We allowed Ferris State to shoot 10-for-21 from three in the first half, which just wasn't good enough. In the second half, we improved a lot defending ball screens and communicating to take away the open looks. It was encouraging to hold Ferris to 30 second-half points. Now, if we could have put together 40 minutes, it potentially becomes a different game."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's basketball was able to stay on top of Lake Superior State on Thursday (Dec. 9), but struggled against Ferris State on Saturday (Dec. 11). 

During Thursday's match, the Huskies were pushed to the brink in the late stages of the second half but stayed on top, winning their fourth-straight game 70-64 over the Lakers at the SDC Gym. In the back-and-forth, Carter Johnston dropped in a pair of free throws, then Trent Bell went 2-for-2 from the line to finally seal victory for the Huskies.

"A win's a win, of course, and you always will take them," head coach Josh Buettner said. "We just need to be tougher, take care of the ball, and be the aggressors. It has to be something where the guys look within, want the ball, and want to make a good pass in that situation." 

Tech fell to No. 20 Ferris State 71-48 at SDC Gymnasium on Saturday. In the GLIAC matchup, the Huskies struggled to cross 35% shooting and the Bulldogs dominated the glass with 40 rebounds, using a 38-21 first-half advantage to halt the Huskies' four-game win streak.

"All the credit in the world to Ferris," said Buettner. "They are really good, which we knew coming in. We had one bad stretch in the first half where they made a run on us to get separation. I thought we were better in the second half and really guarded them well. We just had too many point-blank missed layups today. Some of them were contested but they just didn't fall. Plus we didn't make threes. You're just not going to win against a good team when that happens."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech hockey won both games in its weekend series against St. Thomas at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena, winning 6-1 on Friday (Dec. 10) and 4-3 in overtime on Saturday (Dec. 11).

The Huskies won their ninth game of the season Friday by scoring three goals each in the first two periods. 

"I'm really proud of the effort," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "We were good on the faceoffs, good on the power play, and good on the penalty kills. We've been getting great spark out of a lot of players. I'm happy with the effort and our execution was good."

Of the Tommies, Shawhan said: "That team is going to be really good. Rico (Blasi) is as good as any coach in college hockey. They work hard and play until the last whistle."

The Huskies completed the sweep Saturday, winning 4-3 in overtime. Brian Halonen scored twice, including the game-winner, to lift the Huskies to their 10th win of the season.

"The win is something we needed, but that's pretty poor execution on our part in the last 5:00 of the third to let it go to overtime," Halonen said. "That is our first overtime win of the year, so I guess that is a step in the right direction, but the root cause is that we gave it up with 5:00 left in regulation."

The Huskies held a 3-1 lead late in the third period. The Tommies made it 3-2 at 3:10, and tied the game at 3-3 with 30 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. 

"I'm going to focus on one day at a time to continue to grow this team and get better," Shawhan said. "We need to figure out who can step up and who can't and maybe start turning some ice time over to guys that we know will be there when we need them the most."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Posting for Monday, Dec. 13, 2021

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 906-487-2280 or email mtujobs@mtu.edu.

For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted. 

Senior Administrative Aide (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21329, Residence Education and Housing Services (UAW posting Dec. 13 to Dec. 17, 2021 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates).). Apply online.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Accommodations are available. If you require any auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations to apply for employment, or for an interview, at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or mtujobs@mtu.edu.

Gord Paterson (BioSci/GLRC) is the lead author of a paper published in Limnologica.

The paper is titled "Lacustrine Characteristics Predict Lipid Contents of Mysid Shrimp (Mysis diluviana) Populations."

This research demonstrates the importance of lake characteristics such as water clarity and oxygenation levels on energy accumulation by freshwater shrimp across a diversity of inland lake ecosystems that are also representative of Great Lakes food webs. As a keystone species with a significant role in coupling open-water and deep-offshore habitats, these results improve our understanding mysid ecology and their role in energy flow and connectivity across the diversity of freshwater ecosystems they inhabit.

Face Coverings Required Indoors on Campus

While Michigan Tech is at Health and Safety Level Two, face coverings must be worn indoors. This applies to all students, employees and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.

Michigan Tech strongly recommends that all employees and students continue with handwashing and hand-sanitizing practices, especially in light of the virulence of the COVID-19 delta variant. Please be aware that if you are exposed to COVID-19, quarantine guidelines vary depending on vaccination status. 

In Level Two, students and employees are not required to monitor their symptoms daily prior to coming to campus. But, individuals should be mindful of their own symptoms. A useful monitoring tool is available from the CDC. 

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On-Demand COVID-19 Testing Available on Campus

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees during the fall 2021 semester. 

Testing is located in the Datolite Room at the MUB. Regular testing hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

The last day of testing for the semester will be Thursday (Dec. 16).

Read more COVID-19 Testing Information on the MTU Flex website.

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Online Study Looking for Participants

The Aging, Cognition, and Action Lab is looking for individuals ages 60-90 years old to participate in an online research study investigating the validity of a newly developed web-based application of motor learning.

The entire study will be conducted in one Zoom session, which will last approximately two hours and be scheduled at participants' convenience.

Participants will receive monetary compensation for their time.

For more information and to see if you qualify, please contact the Aging, Cognition, and Action Lab at agingcognitionlab@mtu.edu or 906-487-2378.

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Computer Science Lecture

Jari Porras ’93 (M.S., computer science) will present a lecture at 1 p.m. today (Dec. 13) in Kanwal and Ann Rekhi Hall (Rekhi), Room 214.

The title of Porras' talk is “Integrating sustainability into software engineering education.”

Porras’ research interests include software for sustainability; innovation; technologies and approaches for communications; parallel and distributed computing; networks (social, technical, business); and education development.

Read the lecture abstract and more about Porras' research background on the Computing News Blog.

To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.

New Husky Orientation

Monday, December 13, 8:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Lakeshore-comm-rm123

Computer Science Dept. Lecture: Jari Porras '93

Monday, December 13, 1 p.m. | Rekhi Hall, 214

Dr. Jari Porras ’93 (CS) will present a lecture Monday, December 13, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., in Rekhi 214. The title of his talk is, “Integrating sustainability into software...

Strength Training and High Intensity Interval Training ("HIIT")

Monday, December 13, 5:30 p.m.–6:15 p.m.

We are a group of Michigan Tech graduate students who are focused on improving the health of our community. We are contributing to the COVID-19 response by providing health...

Open Rock Climbing

Monday, December 13, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multipurpose Room Climbing Wall

All ages (we can allow all ages to climb as long as we have the proper fitting equipment). No need to sign up, just stop by the Climbing Wall between 6 and 8 pm Monday through...

Financial Aid 101

Monday, December 13, 7 p.m.–8 p.m.

Join us (virtually) for a Financial Aid 101 session to learn more about paying for your Michigan Tech education! We will walk you through the financial aid process, types of...